"Oh, fuck..." Eric moaned. Matt seemed to take this as in invitation to stick his tongue into Eric's mouth even further.

"Mmm.." Matt was enjoying the contact until Eric suddenly pushed him away. "What was that for?"

"How long have you been awake?" Eric demanded

Adam tried not to look the "ultimate opportunist". "Long enough."

"Yeah. Well, I assure you that was not what it looked like..."

"Looked like you and Matt were sucking face to me." Adam replied smugly

Eric looked at Matt, then back to Adam. "You motherfuckers set me up!" He sent Matt to the ground with a shove.

The fact that neither of them replied was enough to convince Eric he was right. Which he was, but that didn't dissuade either of them from trying to talk their way out of it.

"Eric, I..."

"Shut up! When did you plan this? While I was hanging by a thread from the top of the arena? Or has this been going on since the beginning?"

Matt just smiled back. Probably not the best thing to do. Eric jumped on Matt and punched him, trying to wipe that expression from his face.

"Hey!" Adam jumped from the bed. He grabbed Eric under the arms and tried to pull him off Matt, but only ended up flying backwards when Eric hit him in the mouth with his elbow.

"Eric, I'm sorry!" Matt tried to apologize, which is very hard to do when an irate person, who happens to be on top of you, is throwing punch after punch; all of them landing.

"Come on, Eric, you're really hurting him." Adam tried again, even though his mouth had been split down to the jawline and he was bleeding profusely. This time he was successful, tossing Eric across the bed he'd been sleeping in.

"Eric, this wasn't our idea." Matt lied, but his options at that particular moment were very limited. Maybe if he could convince Eric that this was part of the game...

"Open your mouth again, and I'll bust you up like I did Copeland." Eric warned him, backing toward the door.

"Where are you going?" Adam demanded

"Home. Alone." He added for emphasis.

"But what about us?" Matt asked

"You're both resourceful guys. I'm sure you can find some way home. Hell, if you can't, I really don't care either way." Eric stormed out of the room, not even bothering to pack, slamming the door hard behind him.

"So, now what?" Matt asked "Got any more of your brilliant ideas?"

"No." Adam said, around the hole in his mouth.

"Let's get you to a doctor, first."

Eric drove away as fast as the car would take him. He felt utterly betrayed by two of the people he thought he could trust with his life. Several times during the trip home, he had to pull of the road, most times either screaming loudly or collapsing against the steering column in utter despair. He'd been on an emotional roller coaster since the trip began, but nothing in his life had come close to the last twenty-four hours.

"Why me? Why the fuck does it always have to be me?" Eric screamed in pure agony. "Am I such a bad person?"

It was three a.m., the day before Wrestlemania, when Eric finally pulled into his driveway.

"Home sweet home." He thought "I wonder if I was right."

Eric walked inside his house, on the verge of a complete breakdown. He desperately wanted to find Jeff and tell him everything that had happened.

The living room was deserted. Eric partially expected to be jumped on. However, there was a gold ribbon tied to the newel post, leading toward the bedroom. Eric followed it and, yes, it did end tied to the door of his sleeping area. With much trepidation, Eric stepped inside. The room was filled with candles, smelling of incense, and there was a bottle of Champagne chilling in a bucket beside the bed. Speaking of which, the bed was covered with a flurry of rose petals.

As Eric was admiring the 'improvements' made to his room, he was suddenly grabbed from behind.

"Surprise! Happy anniversary!"

"Anni-what?" Eric turned around and stared into a pair of turquoise eyes that he hadn't seen in way too long.

"It's our anniversary, silly. Don't tell me you forgot?" Jeff giggled

"Jeffro, I think you've got your calendar wrong... we've only been a couple, I guess you could call it, for ten months..."

"Not that anniversary, Er. It's the anniversary of the day I first knew that I wanted you in my life." Jeff snuggled into Eric's arms.

"I wanted to make tonight special..."

"So, you send me on a trip around the country while you do all this?" Eric asked, the magnitude of the situation suddenly becoming too much for him. He started to cry.

"Aw, Eric, I knew you'd like it..." Jeff cuddled up even closer than that.

"Jeff, it's not that..." The dam that had been holding his emotions in check collapsed violently. Eric sobbed in Jeff's arms for several minutes, only getting a few words out, and those coming in short bursts.

"I've been an asshole..."

"Matt set me up..."

"Please forgive me..."

"Shhh... it's okay." Jeff held Eric. "Come lie down. We'll talk.'

Jeff jumped on the bed, and patted the space next to him. Eric climbed in beside him.

"Jeffro, I'm sorry..." Without warning, the whole sordid tale came out. Eric went into detail, not only about what he'd done with Matt, but what had happened with Adam the night before. Jeff listened patiently until Eric was finished.

"So, basically, you gave Edge a hand job and tongue-kissed my brother, is that what you're saying?"

Through his sniffles, Eric nodded. "Jeff, I'm sorry... I didn't want it to happen..."

Jeff seemed to believe him. "And to think I trusted Matt to help me with this!" He sighed "I should've known he was going to try something!" He pounded the bed, making petals fly everywhere.

"So, you forgive me?" Eric asked "I'll understand if you want to end our relationship right now..."

"Shh..." Jeff placed his finger on Eric's lips. "Sometimes, you talk too much." He leaned in for a kiss. Somewhat tentatively, Eric returned it.

Jeff sighed, and pulled back. "Come on, Eric, you can do better than that." He returned his lips to their former position. This time, and with a lot more certainty, Eric kissed his boyfriend back. They held each other for quite a while until Jeff again broke it.

"Just one question... am I a better kisser than Matt?" He asked

"Do I really have to answer that?" Eric smiled

"No... you just being here is answer enough." Jeff snuggled into Eric's arms. "Now what are we gonna do about that brother of mine?"

"I have a few ideas... but why don't you just take out your anger on him tomorrow at the Big Dance?" Eric leaned back on the pillow, then bounced forward suddenly.

"You okay?" Jeff asked

"Yeah, I'm fine, but..." Eric pulled a small object out from under him. "would you please keep your bunny out of our sex life? I told you from before, I'm not into inter-species erotica."

They spent the rest of the night intertwined on the bed. It was close to sunrise when Jeff finally drifted off. Eric was unable to sleep. Despite Jeff's apparent forgiveness, he was still racked with guilt. How could he have let that happen? All he had to do was push Matt away, but oh no, he gave in.

"Dammit, Eric, you are such a loser." He said to himself. "You had a good thing, hell a great thing going, and you had to go and do something stupid like that. What the fuck is wrong with you?"

He quickly covered his face as he felt another sob coming on and he didn't want to wake Jeff. He had way too much to do before his Wrestlemania match with Matt and not getting enough sleep wasn't part of it.

Even with the pillow over his face, Eric couldn't stop his emotions from coming out.

"You okay?" He barely heard. "Dammit," he thought "I woke Jeff."

"Yeah, I'm fine." He replied, and he might've gotten away with that bit of dishonesty if it weren't for a big sniffle right in the middle of it.

"Baby, don't." Jeff wormed his way under the pillow to be beside his lover. "I told you, it's over. We'll move on. I don't blame you for anything that happened. This was all Matt's fault and he will get what he deserves tomorrow."

Eric sniffled again.

"I know. I still feel like shit about it."

"So? Just try to forget about it... I'll deal with both of them myself." Jeff promised

One kiss, and a cuddle with a stuffed rabbit later, and Eric finally fell asleep. He was still sleeping when Jeff awoke, an evil grin on his face. He'd come up with a nice plan while he slept. Quietly creeping outside, he pushed his Corvette into the garage and closed the door. If he could make Matt and Adam think that Eric was still on the road, then maybe he could get them to admit what they had done.

"Well, let's see what they have to say about it, shall we?" Jeff smiled mischievously as the door bell rang.

"Jeff..." Eric protested

"Shhh... remember, not a peep." Jeff closed the door almost completely so Eric could still hear what was going on.

Eric lay back, wondering why Jeff was so adamant about doing this with secrecy. Hell, if it had been up to him, Eric would've confronted them face-to-face come what may.

"Hey Matty, Adam, I bet you're surprised to see me here, huh?" Jeff said, loud enough for Eric to hear, but not too loud that his guests would become suspicious.

"Yeah. Eric not here?" Matt asked

"Naw, haven't seen him. Maybe he got lost. What are you two doing here?"

"We were looking for Eric. We got a few things to deal with him." Matt replied

"Yeah. The sonovabitch stranded us in Philadelphia! We had to find our own way home." Adam added

"Now why would my baby do that?" Jeff asked

"It doesn't matter why." Matt growled

Eric laughed softly. Matt and Adam were so transparent, even if he didn't know, Jeff could've probably figured out what they were up to. The conversation took on a much less vicious tone and Eric was on the verge of falling asleep when he heard Jeff scream.

"Get the hell off of me, Adam... what's going on?"

"Oh, c'mon Jeff, why bother with chopped liver like Eric when you can have a T-bone steak like me?"

Eric scrunched his face. Was Adam really going to do something like what it sounded like he was planning to do?

"Adam, no! Matty, help me!" Jeff shrieked "Matty!"

From the way Jeff was pleading, it was obvious that Matt wasn't coming to his younger brother's aid.

"You know you want it!" Eric sound the sounds of a zipper opening. "Just relax and it'll be over soon."

"Over my dead body it will!" Eric bounded out of bed, grabbing his driver from his bag of clubs in the corner and raced into the living room. What he saw shocked and stunned him. Jeff was being held down by Matt while Adam was slowly undressing him.

"Get your greasy hands off my boyfriend!" Eric bellowed

All three turned at the sound. "Eric!" Jeff sighed "Help me!"

"Well, look at what we got here. One day you're ready to give up on finding Jeff, the next you're his knight in shining armour." Adam stood. Eric disgustedly saw that his jeans were also open.

"And here's my lance. You've got five seconds to get out of my sight..."

"Or what... you gonna hit me again? Everyone knows how much of a pacifist you are. You wouldn't hurt a fly."

"A fly no. But a rapist, yes." Eric swung, aiming for Adam's head. He connected, sending the blond man backwards, a spray of blood from an already nasty head wound covering his face and the floor.

Adam wasn't moving from the one shot. It was hard to tell if he was unconscious or if it was something more serious than that.

"What the hell are you still doing here?' Jeff gestured with the club at his brother.

"Jeff, please... this isn't fair. You wanted to find out whether Eric still loved you, right? Well, how was I supposed to know that dad was going to tear him apart?" Matt relayed what he knew of the early part of Eric's trip, up to when he hooked up with him in North Carolina.

"Dad what?"

"I'm not kidding... from what Eric said, Dad really made him think twice about his relationship. Maybe I pushed him a little, too, but I never meant for anything to happen." Matt backed away in case Jeff decided to tee off on his brother's skull.

"Then why did you try to get with him in the hotel?" Jeff's voice was near cracking.

"Jeffro... you know Adam's been crushing on you for months. Hell, he tries to hide it but everyone knew. He figured that maybe if I hooked up with Eric, he'd have a chance to get with you." Matt collapsed into a chair. "Where are you going?"

"To get an ambulance. I'll deal with you tomorrow. At Wrestlemania." Jeff stormed into the kitchen, leaving a dejected Matt alone in the living room with two bodies.

Eric and Adam were taken to the hospital with a myriad of injuries... Adam had another split lip, a broken cheekbone, and a concussion. Eric fared a little better with only a broken nose and two loose teeth as well as his own concussion.

As for Matt, well you all know how the Wrestlemania match went, right? I guess ole Jeffro had a little more on his mind that night than just beating the crap out of his brother. Despite all that had happened, Jeff couldn't stay angry, even after Matt had basically admitted his role in the whole affair.

ONE WEEK LATER

Eric walked through his living room. Jeff was down on his hands and knees trying to scrub the last traces of blood from the carpet.

"What are you doing here?"

"You gave me a key, remember?" Jeff said

"No, I meant this... I have new carpet coming next week." Eric adjusted the plastic guard he had to wear over the upper part of his face. His nose had to be re-broken twice before it could set properly and Eric had visions of sneezing and half his face falling off.

"I was bored." Jeff answered

"Doesn't Vince have anything for you to do?" Eric asked

"Doubt it. I left the company for a while. Maybe do the odd TV spot, but that's it." Jeff said, ever so matter-of-factly.

"I told you that you don't need to take care of me. I can handle this. The doctor said it'll come off in another week or so."

"Eric, I just wanna be with you." Jeff replied "Is that too much to ask?"

Eric thought... was it? After all that had gone down in the past two weeks, the answer was obvious.

"I guess not."

Jeff stood and stretched. His shoulders popped noisily.

"Why don't you give that a rest and I'll give you one of my famous massages?" Eric winked coyly.

"O-kay." Jeff sprinted into the bedroom. Eric followed, chuckling at the young guy's eagerness.

While Eric got his oils from the bathroom, Jeff sprawled out on the bed.

"C'mon, Jeffro. You know how I operate... either put on a towel or strip to your skivvies." Eric waved the bottles at Jeff, who immediately skinned down to his underwear.

Eric began the massage by drizzling a little bit of the scented oils down the middle of Jeff's back.

"Just relax... and for God's sake, I hope you aren't ticklish." Eric began to massage Jeff's back and shoulders. He could feel how tight they were and it took a lot of rubbing and squeezing to get anything to loosen up.

"Damn, Jeffy, you are tense."

"Wouldn't you be after the shit I've put up with over the last two weeks?" Jeff said, muffled a little from the pillow he was face-first onto.

"Okay, plan B." Eric kneaded Jeff's muscles a little harder, and then a little harder still. Eventually, he could feel the tension start to loosen.

"Can you at least try to relax?" Eric cracked his knuckles loudly. "If not, we may be here all day."

Jeff made a noise that made it sound like that wouldn't be such a bad idea after all.

Eric worked his way down Jeff's back, feeling the stress slowly melt away. If only things were that easy... no job, no prospects, and nothing else going for him other than Jeff, some days it was really hard for Eric to get up.

"MMM..." Jeff was melting into the mattress.

Eric grabbed another towel from the laundry basket. "Okay, flip over dude." He spread it under Jeff's newly-slicked back to prevent having to do more wash than was absolutely necessary.

He massaged Jeff's chest, taking great satisfaction out of the moans of pleasure he was eliciting from his young lover. Working his way lower, he wondered how he could've even been considering not having this in his life. He was tempted to go for the real fun right then, but figured he'd better not spoil the surprise.

He worked Jeff's arms and hands, then stepped back for a bit.

"Just takin a breather." He explained

Jeff put his head back down on the bed. "MMM." He sighed again

Eric applied yet more oil to his fingers and grabbed Jeff's left leg. Slinging it over his shoulder, he worked his way from ankle to thigh. The massage went from a tight squeeze at the ankle to a soft touch at the top and back down. While not really concerned with how tight the muscles in his legs were, Eric was more interested in the reaction of a certain other part of his anatomy. If he did this right, by the time he was done with both legs, Jeff should be hard.

As he worked the muscles of first one leg, then the other, Eric watched and listened. His breathing got a little heavier and there was some activity inside his shorts.

"I know. Just don't get too excited... yet." Eric said the last part to himself. He still didn't want to ruin the surprise, but any fool could see where this was leading. "I've still got a lot of work to do"

Eric teased Jeff for a good ten minutes. By the time he was finished "getting the tension" out of Jeff's thighs, he was pitching a good sized tent. Eric was also aroused, but today it was about Jeff. He could wait... for a few minutes, at least.

"There we are... I haven't seen you that relaxed in months."

"Oh, God, Eric... that was incredible!" Jeff gasped

"And it's only just begun." Eric smiled, tracing a line in the oil on Jeff's chest, down his firm abs, across his navel, and down to the waistband of his shorts. He hooked his finger inside and pulled them down a little, exposing more of Jeff than he'd seen before.

"Eric, what are you... you don't..." Despite their togetherness for almost a year, neither of them had taken their relationship to the next level. Not to say that Jeff didn't want to, but Eric was always the hesitant one.

"Shhh... I should've done this a long time ago." Eric tugged a little further, finally getting a look at that piece of Jeff he'd never seen before. It pointed straight at the ceiling and throbbed a little with what seemed to be Jeff's every heartbeat.

Using much the same technique he'd used on Adam several nights earlier, Eric stroked Jeff's hardness.

"Ohhh.... fuck, Eric...." Other than that, Jeff was unable to make any coherent statement. He just moaned, bucking his hips in time to Eric's strokes.

Jeff's dick was leaking a lot of lubricant, so Eric decided to put it to real good use. "I've never done this before, so hopefully this works." Eric took the head into his mouth and swirled his tongue around. He vaguely remembered what his last girlfriend had done, and tried to copy it. This turned Jeff into a thrashing pile of oily flesh and when Eric took as much of his hardness into his mouth that he could, it sent Jeff to the brink in seconds.

Once Jeff's breathing had slowed, Eric climbing beside him, not caring if some of the oil got on his clothes.

So, Jeffro, judging from your reaction, you've been waiting for this for quite a while?" Eric asked, tracing a pattern on Jeff's chest.

"Forever." Jeff cuddled next to Eric.

"We are gonna hafta keep our eye on Adam, you know." Eric sat up on his elbows.

"Don't ruin the mood." Jeff snuggled even closer. Eric in his one arm, his bunny in the other.

"Careful. You'll get oil all over little Flopsy there and I don't think he/she could stand a trip in the washing machine." Eric smiled

"Whatever. I've got two of the most important things in my life with me right now."

"If only you had a bag of Skittles nearby, right?" Eric laughed. Jeff joined in.

"Y'know... if anyone ever asks me again where in the world is Jeffrey Nero Hardy, I'll be able to answer that I don't care... because right now he's right where he's supposed to be... beside me." Eric took Jeff's hand in his own and placed it over his heart.

"I love you."

THE END

Well, there you have it... they finally hooked up! This story just has the world saga written all over it, but right now I don't have a lot of time to do it... I've got another idea festering inside me... so I have a proposition for you Slashdlite... since you gave me the idea of the jealousy angle, if you'd like to write the next chapter... maybe focus on Adam trying to get Jeff from Eric, go right ahead!

Till we meet again!!!!!

The author would like to thank you for your continued support. Your review has been posted.